On 8 May, the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) announced the arrest of eight criminals suspected to be associated with a cryptocurrency related money laundering organization that allegedly provides Crime as a Service (CaaS) to other criminal entities. The arrests were made with the help of the Spanish Civil Guard (Guardia Civil).

Modus Operandi

The circuit generally used the cloak of
the cryptosphere to hide their money laundering pursuits by passing large sums
of illegally acquired money through the financial system from one bank account
to another without raising any alarms with the help of their own crypto
exchange and ATMs. They also converted the amounts into cryptocurrencies and
assets before splitting them into smaller amounts again with the help of their
ATMs.

The Investigation

Europol helped the Spanish authorities
with the arrest by providing relevant information from their database – first
remotely and then finally in real time when Europol experts came to the country
on the day of the investigation.

The authorities raided seven houses out of
which two were a money exchange office and a cannabis plant. The list of items
seized from these sites included about 200 cannabis plants, several electronic
devices, documents proving their illegal activities, two crypto ATMs, jewels,
eleven vehicles and about €16 800. The investigating team also closed 20 hot
and 4 cold crypto wallets, respectively that were allegedly used to store €9
million.

This incident proves the 2017 European
Union Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment (SOCTA) right. According to
the assessment, money launderers are now moving with the tech age offering
criminal services online. They carry out crimes on behalf of other criminal
entities without having to maintain an infrastructure which was the case with
conventional organized crime groups.
To put it simply,
these criminal individuals set themselves up for hire online where other
criminal groups can entrust them with their illicit agendas.

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I am a content writer with interests in life sciences and blockchain. I believe that blockchain has the potential to transform every aspect of human endeavor. I love surfing the internet, reading, learning new things, and trying new cuisines.